SPices, Tea, Writing and Wine

Great Conversation on the street today
Where are you from? Spain? NO Paradise? NO Angel?  Yes, how did you know, I am from angel...
What is angel?....you'd have to ask him

On to more SERIOUS things:
Goodbye Essaouira......tomorrow we leave, oh how i wish we could stay forever in our little house, on our little street that is always noisy.
This week has been great and despite the ever present ISP looming in the back of our minds, we've managed to enjoy ourselves quite a bit.
Honestly we've spent more time in the apartment than out, but I think thats what we all needed, a quick escape into our own little world where we could choose to interact with outsiders if and when we wanted to.
As I sit in my room surrounded by bags of spices and coffee, "writing" my paper, contemplating how I'm going to manage bringing back everything I've accumulated, wondering if I'm actually going to crank out the rest of this project, I can't help but feel sad and excited for whats to come.  My last week in Morocco, followed by three weeks in Europe and then returning home......oh so many emotions, so many thoughts (to sit in my own bed again, drink Pittsburgh water, sleep in my green room, NOT carry around backpacks full of clothing and other things....)
Excited? yes.   Freaked out that my semester abroad is coming to a close? most definitely.

Waterfalls and Power Loss

Mooshkeel (problem) one: waterfall of rainwater down from our terrace onto the second floor, down the steps to the first floor thanks to the torrential downpour we had yesterday here in windy Essouaira.  SOlution: mop up the water on our hands and knees with tiny sponges

Mooshkeel two: woke up this morning to no electricity. However are we going to entertain ourselves without our computers or the television??? Solution: make an elaborate breakfast (thank you gas stove) of french toast, yogurt, granola, scones, and fruit.

Huge mooshkeels, GREAT solutions
plus we're still in our own house so NBD (no big deal)

ANDD tonight i'm making rice and beans yippeee

Here at Last!

Essaouria HELLLO!! I thought we'd never make it!

After a stressful last few days with lots of traveling and moving around, we have finally settled down for the week in Esaouria.  Got on a bus this morning at 10:30 and arrived at 1:30 (just like the bus schedule said we would!) and were escorted to our home for the next week.
Why do I emphasize home? Because that is exactly what it is, not an apartment, or a hotel, but a HOUSE, in the middle of the medina.
Two floors and a terrace.  A kitchen, three bedrooms, three bathrooms with actual toilets and showers, and a living room.  It's beautiful and perfect.

Its so nice to know that I can unpack my stuff and NOT have to carry around my backpack for an entire week

Thanksgiving in Tangier was great, lots a friends, good food, booze, and skype time with everyone's families, mine included :)
Took a 10 hour train ride on friday to Marrakech, sprung for first class so despite the length it was a fine
Had a....interesting weekend in Marrakech, where I stayed with friends at Earth Cafe (yes the vegan restaurant) and not at a hotel.  Had some awkward exchanges with the owner, who despite being totally bizzarre is really nice
Walked around in the High Atlas mountains, at a Moroccan ski resort (which, unfortunately  hadn't opened yet for the season) and was totally in awe at the splendor of the mountains (with snow on them!)

had Thai food for dinner in Marrakech, a great grilled veggie pita sandwich today for lunch, and of course tasty food at earth cafe.
Those are my updates for the past few days and despite the cool things I've done I'm happy to be where I am, and done more or less with traveling through Morocco. 

in other news, now I have to actually start writing my 20 page research paper.....

Fresh CHobz

Today started with a stop at the bread oven next to my hotel, where Drew and I got chobz to order fresh off the oven.  The first three chobz to be made of the day actually.  Well actually it started when I crawled out of bed this morning to walk through the rain to wire money to a friend that had lost her wallet.  On the walk back Drew and I decided to pick up some breakfast things since we were already out.  The final purchases were peanut butter (of course), yogurt, eggs (which I scrambled for my pals), random cracker like things, and FRESH chobz, wrapped in my scarf to keep them warm.


To  back track a little....after escaping to Fes from the massacre that was Rabat, I headed north to meet up with friends.  Our route for the past few days: Tangier, Tetouan, Chefchaouen, and back again.
Short description:  BLUE, green and Cold (at least Tetouan and Chefchaouen)

So hung around in Tangier for a two days....saw Elizabeth Stocksdale which was just woooonderfuul.
What a funky, sketchy town Tangier is.  Totally can see the remnants of groovy glamor that attracted the Beats, but now it is kinda gray, cold for us, and a little sketchy and scary (Adelaide got pick pocketed)
We moved on from there on Sunday via grand taxi to Tetouan, which was GREEN and COLD.
A very cute, European looking town in the valley of two huge mountain ranges.  We wandered around and saw a Bollywood gangster movie at the local theater.  I really liked it there but our hotel was SUPER funky (weird scents from the bathroom) so it was nice to leave.

On to Chefchaouen on Monday.  Somehow managed to secure ourselves a personal tour guide who took us to a very nice hotel (laundry machine, kitchen, beautiful garden, HOT SHOWER) where we were the ONLLY people staying.  After getting situated, our "guide" took us to this huge blanket and carpet store where we had a VEERRY  long, streesful, and trying experience but managed to escape only a few thousand dirham poorer. Got beautiful things though.


Instead of giving you a play by play on the rest of our stay in Chaouen, I'll sum it up.  We shopped, ate, and tried to stay warm and dry in our hotel.  Did our laundry (which got rained on), made ourselves a real breakfast, and spent tons of money. 
It was a beautiful two days.  The Rif mountains are probably my favorite thing in Morocco.  They are so green and magnificent, the people are so mountainous and rugged looking.  Spanish is everywhere, which always makes me feel comfortable, and the food is wonderful too.

Took the bus back to Tangier today for Thanksgiving tomorrow at our friends apartment.  Were all very excited for that and the fact that we are THAT much closer to arriving in Essaouria where WE will have our OWN apartment for a WHOLE WEEK! our own space, not having to lug around luggage, sleep in grimy hotels, or eat out every meal ooooohhhh i can't wait!

The Massacre....and days leading up to it

it's been awhile, and oh so much has happened.  I'm not even sure where to begin.
So I am officially done with classes here, we finished Arabic last Thursday (I got a B on our final woohoo!)
My official stay with my host family ended when I left them Saturday for Marrakech.  It was sad (ish) but not really.  My host mom told me that she would be "waiting for Tuesday" which is when I told her I was going to be back in Rabat for Aid Al-Fadhr (information to come)
So from Marrakech friends (adelaide, anna and drew) and I took a day trip to the Cascades Ouezaane, ate at Earth cafe again, made delicious guacamole, relaxed and went to the owner of Earth Cafe's organic farm.  It was a lovely trip.  Monday morning (after visiting the farm) we got back on the train.  Drew and Anna got off in Rabat and Adelaide and I continued on to Fes.....our final destination.  After 9 hours on the train we finally got to Fes and after a short struggle to get a taxi made it easily to Hotel Cascade, our humble sleeping quarters for the night.  Organized our stuff and then off to Cafe Clock one of the coolest places I've been and the only reason I went to Fes.
To start, we got iced mint tea and iced coffee, neither of which exist here.
Adelaide got the Camel Burger, which is what Cafe Clock is "famous" for.  I got a preserved lemon and chickpea veggie burger.....it was incredibly delicious (pictures will come)
both of our dishes came with homemade french fries and normal salads, with ACTUAL lettuce
despite the satisfaction in our stomachs, we opted for dessert.  we got two, sticky date pudding and chocolate fudge cake.  YUM.
REturned the next morning for breakfast: fresh fruit with homemade granola and yogurt and riccotta pancakes with caramelized bananas..... i could go on for daays about the tasty flavors and warm feelings this food gave me BUUTT instead ill tell you about the TERRIBLE flavors and feelings wednesday left me with.....

The slaughtering of the sheep (pictures WILL be posted)
so i got to my host family tuesday and was greeted with a little sheep staring up at me, tomorrow was THE DAY
woke up wedensday morning around 830 to have breakfast, aka various breads and sweets
 while we waited for the butchers to come
they came. took our sheep up to the roof terrace (where our neighbor already was with their sheep) and slit its throat, skinned it and took out all its insides.
then my neighbor killed their sheep.
then my host mom took me back down stairs to our other neighbor's and had me film and take pictures of two other sheep get killed.
the intial slitting of the throat wasn't that bad, in comparison to the minute or so after when the sheep is dying and twitching and sort of running in place while its head is slopped back with blood steaming out of its throat.

after enjoying that wonderful sight four times I went back to my house where I helped my host mom clean and prepare all of the insides for eating.
Lunch consisted of Lung and Liver wrapped in fat and served kebob style, AND a stew of stomach, bladder, windpipe and many other unidentifiable organs
I have never craved bread so badly while eating a meal here....usually i try to figure out ways to avoid the bread thats served, not wednesday, i WANTED that bread and LOOOTS of it!

wandered the streets and watched heads and hooves being roasted and sheep skins EEVERYWHERE

dinner: heart and leg cous cous.....worst cous cous i've ever had

By the end of the day I was so worn out form having to constantly give myself mental pep talks and pretending the things that were happening weren't actually happening.

what an experience, and one i hope i won't have again.....though my host mom wants me to come back again next year JUST for it.

there is still an entire sheep hanging in the tiny space that is my hallway....thank god I left today and escaped the scent that had begun permeating everything I own. 
and tried erasing the flavors with the wonderfulness that is Cafe Clock (yes I went back to Fes to experience it again)

Dreaming of Zaalouk

As my time in Rabat's Medina, and with my host family comes to a close, I've begun reflecting on this whole experience.
The other day my host mom made zaalouk, which is a eggplant, pepper, and tomato pate-like dish.  It was delicious and I can't stop thinking about it.  Last night she made beans, which are (of course) also on my mind.

Things that I previously disliked, or that bothered, I am now looking back on with fondness such as M'barka, my host mom, making me breakfast every morning....whatever will I do when I have to make my own pot of tea every morning??

It's been nice being so settled into Rabat, and it's going to be weird to change my lifestyle again but I am SO excited to travel, and be on my own and not have to go through all of the mental stress of when to go home, how to ask for a shower, how to tell them I'm going out etc.

I'll apologize now for the negative things I've posted.  Writing is a wonderful outlet, and when I can't express my frustrations to friends here, I use this as a source of letting loose.  So despite the not so positive things I've written, I've enjoyed my time here....immensely.  Even though it hasn't always been easy, and a lot frustrates me I wouldn't change any of it.


So that's my update for the day....and a few pictures from the olive picking/pressing we did this past Saturday:

Why I Love Couscous Friday Part TWO

COUS COUS

My "zone"

NOW FOR THE GOOD STUFF:

Got my hair did

Sister and hairdresser Oumaima (and I'm wearing the fancy new shirt my host mom made for me!)